THE SHADOWS – "Foot Tapper"

Licquorice Locking also seems responsible for the Born Again Christian aspect to Cliff & The Shads. Accounts of their Great Leader in the early thralls of stardom suggest an out of control libido; Jet Harris’s alcoholic tendencies had something to do with the singer shagging his wife. Jet, a true hero, won’t hear a word against Cliff. In such circumstances he’s a better man than I – and it’s easy to see why Cliff took to religion.

I should point out that this was originally commissioned for a Jacques Tati film but Tati never used it and thus it was seconded for Summer Holiday purposes. Has also had a useful extended second life as the theme tune for Brian Matthew’s Sounds Of The Sixties R2 show.

As Tom says, this one does what it says on the tin but not a whole lot more. Pleasant but a bit lame.

Whoops! That was a bit of a jinx from the Swede, wasn’t it! Dear ol’ Brian Matthew has gone again and this time the umpires will not be calling him back. A wonderful broadcaster and someone even the pop stars looked up to back in the day when the sun was rising. I have caught Bannockburn’s “Sounds of the Sixties” a couple of times and predictably it appears to be not much more than a sixties chart show, accompanied by his 50 year-old mantra “I remember dashing out to buy that one”. Brian always delved much deeper, serving us up not only obscure fare but linking it up with information that was never anything other than interesting, if not fascinating. Many of us were outraged when the BBC axed him. The asinine management literally dealt him a mortal blow. We are unlikely to encounter a broadcaster like Brian again – urbane, friendly and courteous, the antithesis of many of the morons at the helm today. The mantle may indeed have been passed on (and I’m not referring to SOTS) but I’m afraid it’s been passed down and not up. Brian Matthew was indeed “our old mate”. RIP.

A jaunty little number this one, in my eyes. A 6/10 from me.